Court advocates battle growing problem of child neglect and abuse in Winnebago County

Monday

Jun 23, 2014 at 4:39 PMJun 23, 2014 at 5:07 PM

By Jeff KolkeyRockford Register Star

ROCKFORD — When a Rockford grandmother rescued her infant grandson from inside his mother’s apartment, he was covered in feces, having gone days without getting a diaper change.

His brother, a toddler, had been locked in a bedroom.

It was a severe case of neglect and the first case for Court Appointed Special Advocates Jenny Ralston of Belvidere and Pat Webster of Rockford. The volunteers with Winnebago County CASA were assigned by the courts to speak out in the best interests of the children.

And despite the 2010 case’s horrific beginning, the eventual results were reason to celebrate because the mother’s parental rights were terminated and the children were removed from an abusive situation.

The baby was adopted by his grandma, his brother sent to live with his father.

“That was really a wonderful way to settle it,” Webster said. “It’s a very rewarding program. Most of the time, we are the only real person that is in their corner.”

Volunteers with Winnebago County CASA serve as a legal voice and representative for those who are voiceless: Abused and neglected children, usually at the hands of parents who were supposed to protect them.

There is a growing need for CASA volunteers with the number of abuse and neglect cases climbing. There are 111 active volunteers working with 295 children.

They take on cases that range from shockingly horrific abuse to simple educational neglect. They look into the child’s home life, problems at school or in day care, and report back to the court.

Winnebago County has one of the highest rates of child abuse and neglect in the state, according to latest available information from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

There were 1,317 children abused or neglected in the county in 2013, up slightly from the year before. That represents 18.1 cases of abuse per 1,000 children in the county, more than double the state average.

The Winnebago County State’s Attorney’s office estimates it will prosecute about 600 abuse and neglect cases this year. That’s up significantly from the roughly 250 cases prosecuted annually a decade ago and the 450 on average prosecuted each year from 2008 to 2012.

State’s Attorney Joe Bruscato said the increasing case load was the reason a third courthouse opened last year. Winnebago County renovated the former federal courthouse, 211 S. Court St., and moved in May 2013.

The new juvenile courthouse doubled the space of juvenile court operations. It has three courtrooms and office space for juvenile probation, CASA volunteers, prosecutors that handle juvenile cases and other juvenile services.

And the ever-growing need exacerbates the demand for trained volunteers from CASA.

“Having CASA involved produces excellent results because they have the manpower and resources to go to the schools and the homes to find out what is going on in the child’s life and report that back to the court,” Bruscato said.

Abuse and neglect cases are primarily meant to determine what is in the best interests of children. They typically involve allegations of parents not properly caring for children or abusing them. Bruscato’s office must also determine if such cases cross a line from abuse and neglect into charges of criminal activity.

“The question here is how can we turn this around? Or is it so bad we need to terminate parental rights?” Bruscato said. “The court needs a third party making reports, representing the interests of the child. CASA goes out to the schools and homes and does the background work.”

CASA volunteers make a two-year commitment, go through about 30 hours of training and stick with one or two cases until they are resolved. Volunteers go to all court appearances and often visit the children at home and at school a few times a month, said Taryn Marko, director of Winnebago County CASA.

The court wants to make sure the child’s needs are being met and turns to a CASA for help, Marko said.

“We are the one consistent person throughout the lifetime of the court cases that can last years sometimes,” Marko said. “They go through different changes, sometimes many case workers, many different schools, but only one CASA.”

As a CASA volunteer, Dwan Montgomery, 37, of Rockford, said she has concentrated on a single case. She has referred a parent to parenting classes and was recently surprised to find the child already in the school principal’s office for misbehavior when she went for a visit.

“I am hoping to make a difference in a chid’s life,” Montgomery said.

If a parent doesn’t like an advocate’s recommendations to the court they will sometimes put up roadblocks, like refusing to answer phone calls or the door.

“That’s when I get on Facebook and instant message,” Montgomery said. “I can tell if you read my message and just don’t answer me.”

Ralston and Webster work as a CASA team.

Ralston serves as the good cop, patiently cajoling parents to better care for their children. Webster draws on her years of school office experience to act, if not as the bad cop, perhaps as the blunt one.

“It’s a very rewarding program,” Webster said. “We are the only real person that is in (the child’s) corner.”

Ralston said protecting these children is a passion for her.

“All children should have love and be safe,” Ralston said. “That’s what I want. When I am with these kids, I want them to be safe. We want to give them love.”

Jeff Kolkey: 815-987-1374; jkolkey@rrstar.com; @jeffkolkey

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